NRC to Increase Oversight of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant Based on New Inspection Finding

NRC to Increase Oversight of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant Based on New Inspection Finding

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized an inspection finding of low-to-moderate safety significance and an associated violation for the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The decision will result in increased NRC oversight at the Plymouth, Mass., facility.

Specifically, the enforcement action will move the plant into the Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column, or Column 4, of the NRC’s Action Matrix. The plant transitioned into the Degraded Cornerstone Column, or Column 3, in late 2013 as a result of unplanned shutdowns and unplanned shutdowns with complications that year. During an inspection in December 2014, the NRC found that Entergy, the plant’s owner and operator, had not adequately evaluated the causes of those shutdowns and that some corrective actions had not been completed as intended or were closed out prematurely.